The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson (review)

Nestled in the Bahian bay in what used to be Brazil, Palmares Tres is an electric, thriving city fortified against the nuclear waste the covers much of the rest of the world. Every year, in a gossip-riddled and lavish ceremony, its residents name a male waka, a youth under thirty, to be sacrificed in a year's time. This year, Enki, a boy from the city's lowest caste, has been given the honor of being the future Summer King, and his friends, sixteen-year-old June and her best friend Gil, could not be happier: Gil, because he's in love with Enki and Enki appears to return his affection, and June because she sees a fellow artist in Enki and hopes to use his celebrity to make a name of her own. What she gets instead is a revolution as Enki draws her further in his plans to upend the city's structure, and June decides it is up to her to save Enki, both from himself and the establishment. A set-up that pits the younger generation against the old will have immediate teen appeal, but the situation is more nuanced than that: as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that this is a dystopia with no distinct enemy, just people fighting for what they truly see to be the right path for their community. This fact is made painfully clear in the brief but emotionally charged moments between June and her mother, and their strained but ultimately caring relationship exemplifies the loyalty and love that holds Palmares Tres together. The love triangle between June, Gil, and Enki is unusual in YA lit for its lack of jealousy, and their shared relationship works to convey the various iterations of love as lust, passion, comfort, and trust. The spectacular city is an appealingly bizarre mash-up of old-world traditions and futuristic technologies, echoing the community's larger conflict. Romantic, imaginative, and thought provoking, this is a must have for science-fiction fans and dystopia fiends.